Following its recent investment in Kaiko, S&P Global's new acquisition aims to tackle technological risks for banks and asset managers in onchain finance.
By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Oliver Knight45 min ago2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on S&P Global has acquired OpenZeppelin, a leader in smart-contract security, whose libraries have facilitated over $37 trillion in digital asset transactions. (Beyond My Ken/Wikimedia Commons)SummaryShow- S&P Global has announced its acquisition of OpenZeppelin, a smart-contract security company whose library has supported over $37 trillion in transfers, although specific terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
- This acquisition aims to enhance S&P's digital asset risk analysis to include the technology behind stablecoins, tokenized funds, and decentralized finance products.
- OpenZeppelin will maintain its name and operate as an independent entity under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Demian Brener, pending closing conditions for the transaction.
S&P Global (SPGI) disclosed on Thursday that it is set to acquire OpenZeppelin, a firm specializing in smart-contract security with an extensive open-source library utilized throughout the stablecoin and tokenized fund sectors. S&P noted that contracts developed with this library have facilitated transactions exceeding $37 trillion. The specific terms of the acquisition have not been revealed.
This acquisition grants S&P Global insight into aspects of onchain finance that traditional ratings do not encompass, specifically regarding the code that issues and manages stablecoins, tokenized funds, and decentralized finance products. Even if a project possesses robust reserves or a strong credit rating, it could still falter due to vulnerabilities in its smart contracts. S&P is positioning itself to assist banks and asset managers in evaluating this technology risk before they deploy onchain products at scale.
It is important to note that the $37 trillion figure refers to the value transacted through contracts utilizing OpenZeppelin's library over time, rather than assets managed or held by the company.
“This transaction enhances S&P Global's risk evaluation and ecosystem development capabilities within digital asset markets, allowing for the advancement of onchain security assessments, benchmarks, and essential intelligence as capital markets transition to onchain formats,” the firm stated.
Established in 2015, OpenZeppelin specializes in onchain security assessments and secure development services, offering an open-source smart contract library that many leading stablecoins and tokenized funds rely on. According to S&P, the company has undertaken over 900 security engagements, identifying more than 10,000 vulnerabilities before deployment.
S&P has been expanding its digital asset coverage for over a year, releasing assessments on stablecoin stability and issuing the first-ever credit rating for a DeFi protocol, Sky. The addition of OpenZeppelin extends this focus from evaluating the entities to assessing the underlying code.
This acquisition follows a series of strategic moves by the approximately $120 billion company in the digital asset space. Earlier this week, it led a $110 million Series B funding extension for crypto data firm Kaiko, alongside BNP Paribas, Nasdaq Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and the Royal Bank of Canada. In addition, S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko recently launched a co-branded digital asset index suite, and in March, they tokenized the iBoxx U.S. Treasuries Index.
The acquisition is subject to closing conditions and is not anticipated to significantly affect S&P Global's financial performance.
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By CoinDesk ResearchSep 15, 2026Commissioned byRippleAs stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
Why it matters:
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
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